7.10.080 Adaptive Re-Use and other Rehabilitation Incentives.
A. Purpose. The rehabilitation incentives provided by this Section are intended to encourage the maintenance, preservation, and rehabilitation of cultural resources in the City, recognizing that maintaining and rehabilitating a cultural resource places increased burdens on the affected property owner. These rehabilitation incentives are intended to reduce those burdens so that property owners will be encouraged to invest in maintaining the City’s cultural resources.
B. Applicability. Upon designation of a structure or improvement as a designated cultural resource, the property owner may apply to the Council for aid and assistance in rehabilitating the resource. The application for rehabilitation incentives is considered the necessary planning permit; the applicant need not submit additional applications for other permits required by this Code or the Zoning Ordinance, but shall comply with any City requirements for a Building Permit, Grading Permit, etc.
C. Types of incentives allowed. The Council may grant any or all of the following rehabilitation incentives
1. Adaptive reuse, including the approval of a change to a land use that is not otherwise allowed in the zone, but which is permitted in other zones;
2. Mills Act Agreements;
3. Permit fee waivers; and/or
4. Reduction and/or substantial modification in the development standards of this Code and/or the Zoning Ordinance.
D. Application content. Applications shall include the information required by the Director.
E. Review and approval of rehabilitation incentives.
1. Hearing and action. The Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee shall hold a public hearing to determine the eligibility of a property for rehabilitation incentives and shall, by resolution, approve or deny any incentives. The action of the Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee on a Mills Act agreement shall be a recommendation to the Council; the Council has final approval authority in Mills Act decisions. Public notice for the hearing shall comply with State law.
2. Required findings for approval. The Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee may recommend or grant rehabilitation incentives, only after first making all of the following findings:
a. Findings for all incentives.
1) Each incentive to be granted serves to compensate the property owner for the increased burden, in terms of maintenance and expense, that rehabilitation would entail;
2) No approved incentive would impair the aesthetic, architectural, or historic integrity of the resource; and
3) No proposed incentive would be detrimental to the public health, safety, or general welfare.
b. Findings for adaptive reuse. In addition to the above findings, the Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee shall make the following findings for the approval of adaptive reuse:
1) The change of use would occupy no more floor area than the original use;
2) The proposed use would not significantly impair the physical character of the area in which it is located; and
3) The change of use would result in substantial restoration of the significant and architectural features or exterior architectural appearance of the resource, and/or will result in a maintenance plan that will ensure the upkeep and continued maintenance of the resource over the expected life of the project.
3. Conditions of approval. In approving rehabilitation incentives, the Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee may impose any conditions of approval deemed necessary to ensure compatibility between the new use and the surrounding area.